Kristine Yaffe, MD
Kristine Yaffe, MD, is a Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and Epidemiology, the Roy and Marie Scola Endowed Chair and Vice Chair of Research in Psychiatry at UCSF. Dr. Yaffe is dually trained in neurology and psychiatry and completed postdoctoral training in epidemiology and geriatric psychiatry, all at UCSF. In addition to her positions at UCSF, Dr. Yaffe is the Chief of Neuropsychiatry and the Director of the Memory Disorders Clinic at the San Francisco Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center. In her research, clinical work, and mentoring, she has worked towards improving the care of patients with cognitive disorders and other geriatric neuropsychiatric conditions.
Dr. Yaffe's research focuses on the epidemiology of cognitive aging and dementia. As the principal investigator of multiple grants from the NIH, Department of Defense, and several foundations, she is a leading expert in the modifiable risk factors of dementia, and she has published over 500 peer-reviewed articles (H-index=139; recognized by Clarivate Analytics as one of the most highly cited researchers in her field). Dr. Yaffe served as the Co-Chair of the United States’ Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Cognitive Aging which released a report in 2015 entitled, “Cognitive Aging: Progress in Understanding and Opportunities for Action”. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and serves on the Beeson Scientific Advisory Board as well as the Global Council on Brain Health. Dr. Yaffe has received several awards for her distinguished, scholarly work, including the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry’s Distinguished Scientist Award and the American Academy of Neurology’s Potamkin Prize for Alzheimer’s Research.